Aurelian Iftimiu

40 Patriarch Daniel Quotes for the Lenten Season

Orthodox Christians across the globe are entering Lent, the season of preparation before Easter. The 40-day period sees many Christians partake in a season of moderation, meditation, fasting, prayer and repentance. The exercises in discipline are undertaken to allow believers time to reflect on the life, words and sacrifices of our Saviour Jesus Christ. For…

Mar 11, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarch’s Lenten Message focuses on ascetism as common vocation for all faithful

Ascetism takes center stage in Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s Lenten message this year, which represents a common vocation for all faithful without exception. ‘Asceticism is Christianity in its entirety,’ Patriarch Bartholomew wrote in his catechetical homily at the opening of Holy and Great Lent published March 4, 2019. ‘The purpose of ascesis is the transcendence of…

Mar 5, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Let us mobilize for action in favour of the Romanian village, don’t look nostalgically at it: Patriarch Daniel

During the opening of The Portrait of the Romanian Village exhibition on Wednesday, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel said that the photos displayed are not supposed only ‘to impress us emotionally, even unto tears, but to determine us to take action in favour of the village.’ ‘Otherwise, we describe it beautifully and our praise becomes some…

Feb 28, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel opens ‘The Portrait of the Romanian Village’ Photo Exhibition in Bucharest

The opening ceremony of the first photography exhibition organized by the Basilica News Agency took place on Wednesday at the Patriarchate’s Palace in Bucharest as part of the Agency’s initiative to promote the beauty of villages in Romania. The 50-photo exhibition, titled ‘The Portrait of the Romanian Village’, is a project carried out by the…

Feb 28, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Photo Exhibition Opening: The Portrait of the Romanian Village (Photo Gallery)

The photography exhibition titled The Portrait of the Romanian Village was opened on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at the Patriarchate’s Palace in Bucharest in the presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel. The exhibition includes approximately 50 photos taken by 14 photographers in different villages of Romania and will remain open until Saturday, March 9, 2019, at…

Feb 28, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Holy Synod examines Ukrainian ecclesiastical issue at first 2019 working session

On Thursday, 21 February 2019, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church held its working session at the Synodal Hall of the Patriarchal Residence, under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, during which the following decisions were made: The Holy Synod appreciated the manifold and rich activities carried out in the Romanian Patriarchate…

Feb 21, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

First 2019 Holy Synod working session kicks off with Ukraine situation on the agenda

The hierarchs of the Romanian Orthodox Church came together for the first working session of the Holy Synod on Thursday, after asking for God’s help and inspiration during a Te Deum service officiated at St George chapel of the Patriarchal Residence by Bishop Andrei of Covasna and Harghita. Gathered under the chairmanship of His Beatitude…

Feb 21, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

National Church Council evaluates 2018 activity of the Romanian Orthodox Church

The members of the National Church Council met Tuesday, February 19, 2019, for the annual working session at the Patriarchal Residence in Bucharest. The meeting was chaired by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel. The NCC members reviewed the most important activities carried out last year by the Romanian Orthodox Church and set project proposals for 2019.…

Feb 19, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Dobre Dobrev 1st death anniversary: Bulgarian priest remembers Sofia’s saintly beggar

Marking Dobre Dobrev’s 1st death anniversary, Fr Kiril Sinev, a Bulgarian priest who serves in Ruse, told the Basilica News Agency how people remember the saintly grandfather who devoted himself to raising money for Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church. Father Kiril Sinev said that even the Elder’s name Dobre (which derives from the Bulgarian word dobar, good)…

Feb 19, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian King Carol II to be reburied at Argeș royal necropolis

The remains of King Carol II, who was the first of the Hohenzollern kings of Romania to be born in the country, will be reburied inside the new royal necropolis at Curtea de Argeș, where his son King Michael I is buried. The reburial service will take place on Saturday, March 9, at 12.00. ‘It…

Feb 19, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarchate establishes Synaxis of All Military Saints

During its working session on February 14, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate established a new feast dedicated to all the Orthodox Saints who were soldiers and who died as martyrs for Christ. The Synaxis of All Military Saints will be celebrated every year on July 8 by the Church of Constantinople. The proposal…

Feb 18, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu